Reunion
by Vaneria Potter
Summary: Based off of Kimberly T's awesome story "Promises To Keep". What -would- have happened if the Southern Water Tribe Warriors had come across Zuko's ship and found Katara there?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor am I making any money off of this. _

_Summary: Based off of Kimberly T's awesome fic 'Promises to Keep', mostly __inspired by chapter six_, plus a few bits and pieces, such as the crew's ultimate loyalty, from other authors.

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**REUNION**

Water Tribe ships were not easy to spot, unless in broad daylight, or if they wanted you to. With no steam or noise to give them away, blending into the fog of the dawn and the dark of the night, they had wreaked no small havoc on the Fire Nation Navy.

Equally effective was the few times that their victims had seen and reported the symbol they bore. Hakoda felt no regret for using the crest of the Northern Tribe, rather than his own, as anything that could drag their sister tribe into seeing what was right under their nose, and possibly ensure their aid to end this pointless war, could only be for the good, in his opinion.

A few of the Fire Nation had termed them 'Ghost Ships'; there and gone in the blink of an eye, always heralding doom for those who saw them. They took advantage of this. Psychological warfare was almost as important as the actual fighting. Appearing out of the mist long enough to be seen, then trailing the ship without notice was enough to keep a crew jumpy and on edge. When they were too nervous to think straight, or lulled themselves into a sense of security, the Water Tribe would strike.

Their most common tactic, but not their only one. The ship that they currently followed was too small to be a warship, which suggested that either it was on a covert mission, or it was transporting someone or something important. Life was harsh, and resources scarce, so it made no sense to take prisoners, unless they could be ransomed or interrogated. A ship such as this one was worth investigating, so Hakoda and Bato's ships had followed, unseen and waiting.

As was usually the case, the first that the crew knew of the attack was the sound of explosions and people screaming. The Water Tribe warriors were not sure who was traveling on the ship, or how important they were, so they settled for tying everyone up tighter than the catch of a shark-whale hunt while they searched the rest of the ship.

A shout from where some of the younger warriors had gone to search for prisoners drew Hakoda's attention, and the frantic call of his name had him turning toward the passage below deck, even as the tribesmen came running up, carrying a struggling young man and a horrifyingly familiar girl. "Katara!"

He had longed endlessly to see his children again, but not in this way. Still, Katara flew into his arms with a joyous shout of "DAD!", and for a moment, Hakoda could let the war go and just hold his little girl close. Why the scarred boy looked suddenly jealous was anybody's guess, but hardly important.

But they had other things to deal with, and Hakoda was forced to let her go, only to be confronted with an expression of such seriousness that he had hoped not to see on her face for several years. An expression that said he was not going to like what she had to say, but she had no choice but to tell him. "Can I talk to you quickly? It's very important."

It would take more than five minutes to escape from a Water Tribe knot, especially when under guard. Hakoda nodded and led her off to the side, where she quietly spun an almost unbelievable tale. She spoke of how she and Sokka had found and freed the Avatar, and how the ship had come to their village in search of him, and left without hurting anyone, even after Aang had escaped them.

She told him of how the ship was one of an exile, bound to the Fire Nation only by birth and love of the family left behind, but not by belief or participation in the war. She did not meet his eyes, looking down in shame as she described how the old man had taken pity on her youth and offered honourable parole, the terms and her sacred oath to keep them, how she had accepted it to try and convince the prince that what they were doing was wrong. She repeated how Tetsuko had been kind to her, almost as a much older sister, and how the boy had made sure that she would not be dishonoured, how he had become so horribly scarred, and her discovery that not all of the Fire Nation were monsters, merely ruled by one.

This placed Hakoda in something of a pickle. On the one hand, keeping this many prisoners was impractical under the best of circumstances, and he could not trust that they would not report this to their friends and family, which could put what remained of the Southern Water Tribe at risk. On the other, he owed them for his daughter's life and well-being, especially if the Prince and the General had protected her as she said. The Fire Nation were not the only ones to place significance on honour, and Hakoda would disgrace himself if he repaid their indirect kindness to his family and community with death.

He was not the only one to have come to that conclusion. Keelut spoke in a low voice. "See if they have any alternatives, we owe them that much. Otherwise, we have the resources to take them back to General Hung and let him deal with it."

Bato, nursing a badly-burned arm, agreed, suggesting that the Fire Nation crew swear silence by Agni, as Katara had agreed to Iroh's terms by Tui and La. By the Water Tribe's sense of community, Katara was like a collective niece, and they could not forget that. Katara beamed at her 'Uncle' and bent some water out of a nearby Barrel, wrapping it around Bato's arm. The water started to glow, as Hakoda remembered from his days as a very small child, when the Southern Water Tribe still had Healing-gifted Waterbenders.

Seeing Bato's suggestion as the best potential option, Hakoda addressed the captives. "Katara claims that you treated her well and honourably, and that you are not the monsters that kill and destroy without cause, as those we have previously encountered were, merely ruled by one." The one Katara had identified as Prince Zuko opened his mouth to object, but was elbowed by the soldier next to him. Hakoda tried not to think of how much it resembled the way Sokka would have reacted, and continued. "For your conduct toward my daughter, I am inclined to spare you, but we have neither the resources to keep prisoners, nor any way to trust that you would not report this encounter to the Fire Lord, if only to keep your families safe from the repercussion of remaining silent."

There was a long and very uncomfortable silence, finally broken by the old man that Katara had pointed out as Iroh, her main protector. "We are exiled, and Ozai would kill us before listening to any report we gave. There are already things we have not reported, or mentioned in letters home. Our quest is to find the Avatar, not be involved in the war."

A Fire Nation youth aimed a cautious glance at Prince Zuko. "My loyalty to the Fire Lord ended when I discovered that he attacked his own son." (The Water Tribe warriors were horrified; harming one's own family, especially on purpose, was unthinkable! Anyone who deliberately inflicted a wound that resulted in a scar like the Prince's would have instantly undergone the Rite of Exclusion, if not had their limbs broken and left on the ice!) "I won't say anything."

An interesting turn of events, but even an absent comment to a family member was too big of a risk. They were only a day away from General Hung's forces, possibly less, in a Fire Nation ship, and Hakoda did not like to kill, if he could possibly avoid it. The Water Tribe ship was tied to the Fire Nation one, and the warriors set course for the Earth Kingdom. It was strange to be sailing a foreign ship, but they had a basic knowledge of how they worked, having fought them enough times.

The crew were escorted to their cabins and locked in, with a guard posted at the door. Zuko and Iroh were led to the prince's cabin, where Hakoda and Katara stayed with them. Katara had not broken any of the terms of honourable parole, so the two royals were still honour bound to protect and not harm her, which the prince was clearly fuming over. Oddly, that fact made Hakoda feel a bit better. When he wasn't scowling, Zuko was not bad-looking, and probably the first boy Katara had met that was both her age and not her brother, and Katara was about the age when Kaya had first shown interest in him. No, as long as the clear animosity between the two teens didn't go too far, Hakoda was happy to let his little girl and the prince be angry at each other.

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_A/N: I have Kimberly T's permission to write this, but I don't know what she plans on doing in Promises to Keep, so consider this an AU. Hopefully I haven't done too badly._

_Thanks, Nat._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I own any of the Canon Characters. The Fire Nation OCs are property of Kimberly T, and used with permission. I make no profit from their use._

_Summary: See previous chapters._

_WARNING: There is a bit of POV-switching in this chapter, but I'll do my best not to let it get too confusing._

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**REUNION – PART 2**

Zuko was not jealous. Not at all.

It had started when he was giving Katara another lesson in the finer parts of bending, like shaping her element, after working on the budget together (Katara was actually quite good at it), and had been interrupted by shouts, screaming and explosions.

He hadn't even figured out how to keep Katara safely hidden when the door had crashed open to reveal two men in the blue of the Water Tribes, who looked angry and even angrier when it appeared that Zuko was trying to push Katara toward the bed. Well, it might have seemed childish, but there weren't a lot of places to hide in the Prince's room, so trying to hide her under the bed was the best he could come up with on short notice!

Zuko was not jealous when they had been taken up on deck, where his crew were tied up, and Katara had run straight into the arms of the leader, a tall and powerfully-built man who had completely disregarded the danger to drop his weapons and embrace Katara like he would never let go.

He was not jealous, just because it was a marked difference to anything he had experienced, as Fire Lord Ozai barely even touched him in private, much less where anyone might actually see any sign of affection.

He was not jealous that every one of the Water Tribe warriors seemed thrilled that Katara was alive and safe, when Zuko could count on one hand the number of people, aside from his uncle, who would care if he dropped off the face of the earth.

He was not jealous that the Water Tribe leader listened to Katara when she asked him to spare them, despite being Fire Nation, because they had treated her well and honourably, when the Fire Lord had burned and banished Zuko for speaking in defence of their own soldiers, because it was the right thing to do.

He wasn't jealous that Katara's father hadn't let go of her once since they had been reunited, and that she didn't need to be a master bender, or even a good fighter, to get her father's love and affection. Zuko's sword masters had declared him a prodigy, especially with the Dao swords, which were the hardest to master and even that had failed to get more than a faint nod of approval from Ozai.

He wasn't jealous, only confused when the Chief, whose name appeared to be Hakoda, had looked so relieved when Zuko had been fuming at having to be polite and respectful to Katara, because she hadn't broken the terms of parole when the Water Tribe attacked, which was more concern than Zuko's father had ever shown toward him. He also wasn't sure why Hakoda had looked so worried when Katara fetched her water bowl and two candles the next morning, for what had become something of a daily ritual, explaining that Zuko had been the one to teach her to meditate.

Katara hadn't mentioned anything, but maybe freeing Aang hadn't been the only time her untrained bending had blown up on her?

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Some bad weather meant that it took three days to reach the Earth Kingdom, rather than the anticipated one, and Zuko's was still trying to convince himself that he wasn't jealous.

The Water Tribesman had never faced the Wani in battle, but had offered the entire crew (with the exception of the few who had been openly hostile, calling them barbarians and Katara a Water Witch) Honourable Parole anyway, almost totally because the two Princes had offered the same to Katara. One of them had even commented that the crew acted like a sort of mini-tribe of their own, which they had presumed to be a compliment. Tetsuko was even bunking in Katara's cabin, because Tetsuko, along with Taozu, had been treating Katara as a kid sister, and siblings stuck together, at least in the Water Tribe.

Unofficially, it was also because no matter how much they cared for their collective niece, none of them had any idea what to do when moon times came around, aside from letting another woman deal with it.

Fire Lord Ozai and his assorted Military Leaders wouldn't have offered any of the Water Tribesmen such a chance, no matter what the circumstances. Azula usually tried to pretend that she and Zuko weren't even related, and wouldn't care if he was thrown overboard, much less where he was bunked.

It was almost sad that he was even jealous when Hakoda sat Katara down for a lecture on reckless behaviour, the worry she must have caused her brother, and the expectations and responsibilities that came with being a woman of the Tribes. At least Katara's father cared enough about his daughter to lecture her; Zuko would give almost anything just to have his father speak to him at all, let alone say that he believed and expected Zuko to be capable of being anything more than a failure.

All that aside, Zuko was the Prince of the Fire Nation, the oldest son of Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Lady Ursa! And, damnit, he was not going to be jealous of a bunch of Water Tribe Peasants from some frozen backwater village!

_Of course he was._

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Iroh would have to do something very nice for Sergeant Tetsuko in the near future. As soon as he was no longer in Water Tribe custody and had the opportunity, anyway.

It had been Tetsuko's genuine air of concern that had led Katara to ask what was troubling her semi-friend, which in turn led to an explanation about the Siege of Ba Sing Se and why it would be a Very Bad Thing if Iroh were to wind up in the clutches of the Earth Kingdom Military.

Katara, perhaps a bit too kind for her own good, promptly dragged Tetsuko to her father and had her explain the situation to him. Hakoda had pulled Iroh in and had him verify the facts, keeping in mind that part of the Honourable Parole was never to lie or deliberately mislead them.

That had led to a conversation where Hakoda had been forced to expend a great deal of effort to stop himself from reminding Katara that Iroh was a Fire Nation General, not one of the baby turtle-seals that she had brought home and begged to keep, back at the South Pole.

Katara knew that she was on dangerous ground. Sparing an enemy in repayment of a debt was one thing, but now she was asking them to go out of the way to aid someone who could prove very dangerous. Still, she had to try.

The _'Wide, Hopeful Blue Eyes_-tactic' hadn't failed her yet, and she had a trump card. She repeated the conversation that had convinced them to spare the Fire Nation ship in the first place, then turned and swore Tetsuko to secrecy. The slightly confused Fire Nation woman did so, and Katara took a deep breath, focussing on her father again. "General Iroh returned the Waterbending Scroll to me, Daddy, and taught me some of the moves. You know how much I owe him for that."

Hakoda did know. Katara was the last Waterbender of the Southern Tribe, but had been forced to teach herself after trial and much error. The Tribe had tried to put a good face on it, saying that it was a test from the Moon Spirit, who had been the first Waterbender, who had taught herself and all who came after her, and that it was a sign that Katara was destined to be a great bender herself.

However, the truth of the matter was that Katara needed to be trained, and with Aunt Hama, the cousin of Hakoda's father, having been taken captive before Katara was even born, and the Northern Water Tribe's refusal for a master to come down and train his daughter, Iroh's teaching was a gift that they would be hard-pressed to repay.

Katara knew it as well, and pressed on while she had the advantage. "General Iroh has been kind, and helpful, and we know that he is a man of Honour. Besides, when the Fire Nation is defeated, the world is going to have to learn to get along with each other again. Wouldn't it be a good thing if we could learn about the Fire Nation culture, and teach them about ours, so we can have peace? Iroh is part of the ruling family, and he can provide a lot of influence. Wouldn't it be best is we were already on civil terms? Please, Dad, I know that it isn't totally practical, but they can help us, and they've given their word and the Fire Nation cares about Honour like we care about Family, and – "

Hakoda held up a hand. "All right, Katara. Those not bound by Honourable Parole will still be transferred to Earth Kingdom custody – " (Those prisoners had graduated from 'Water-witch' to 'Water-whore' and lewd remarks about why the Avatar would want an untrained, useless Waterbender barely past puberty, and therefore deserved whatever the Earth Kingdom could dish out, as far as Hakoda was concerned) "- but those under our protection will remain safe with us, and there is no need to reveal General Iroh's true identity."

Iroh tried not to show the full extent of his relief as Katara beamed and hugged her father, then pulled Iroh and Zuko away to help her practice her Bending again, to reinforce the concept that they were worth keeping around.

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_A/N: Second Chapter up. I originally meant for this to be a two-shot, but am now thinking of making it longer. At least until Katara joins up with Sokka and Aang again. What do you think?_

_Thanks to **Kimberly T, AnnaAza **and** sokkantylee** for being wonderful reviewers!_

_Nat._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, and am making no money off of this fanfic._

_Summary: See Previous Chapters_

_A/N: The Confrontation was inspired by **Kimberly T**'s Drabble Series, and thanks for letting me use it. Thanks also go to my awesome reviewers: **SCWLC, Liersore, sokkamtylee, AnnaAza, ArrayePL** and, again, **Kimberly T.  
**You all rock and I appreciate it! _

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**CHAPTER THREE**

Zuko was not jealous that as soon as Sokka saw his sister, he ran toward her, crying that he had thought she was dead. Nor did he envy the way Katara flew into her brother's arms. Just because the only times Azula proclaimed affection was when she was setting him up for something, and hadn't hugged him since she was three, unless it was the time she had tried to plant one of Mai's knives in his back shortly before he had been banished.

Then a small whirlwind was the only warning before the Avatar slammed into both, and Zuko wondered if that was what it was like to have friends. Mai and Ty Lee were always deferential toward Azula, though Ty Lee might have gotten away with such an exuberant display, as long as she bowed first, without getting blasted full of lightning. Maybe.

Zuko privately thought that Azula might have been part of the reason Ty Lee ran away to join the circus in the first place.

Then he told himself that it didn't matter, and that once he captured the Avatar, he would have his father's love and pride, and Azula would have to respect him. He would even try to convince the Fire Lord to let the Avatar go, after making him promise not to fight the Fire Nation, and work with them to restore balance.

He valued Katara's friendship, respect and company, after all, and didn't want to lose it. She might be a bit angry that he wouldn't give up his mission, but at least she wouldn't go back to hating him if he was willing to compromise like that, right?

For some reason, he wasn't so sure.

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They had arrived in the Earth Kingdom ahead of schedule, and had two days before they were due to meet up with the Earth Kingdom army. This gave Katara time to catch up with Sokka and Aang on what had been happening in her absence.

Under the impression that Katara was dead, Sokka and Aang had continued on to the Northern Water Tribe, where Aang had been taught by Waterbending Master Pakku. His training had been interrupted when Zhao and a fleet of ships numbering in the thousands had attacked, but had been driven off when a strike team had managed to assassinate the Commanding Officers on the flag ship.

Leaderless, the fleet had fled, but everyone had agreed that if the Fire Nation was bold enough to attempt such an attack, it would be best if the Avatar finished his training in Earth and Fire. Since Aang was not fully trained, and it might be a good idea to look for allies in the Earth Kingdom and Southern Water Tribe, a few ships had been sent to convey Aang and Sokka to the Earth Kingdom, before continuing on to the South Pole.

Katara honestly wondered how Sokka managed to keep his mouth shut on that matter, but guessed that he had been indulging his occasional sneaky side and setting the Northerners up for a rude shock, as he seemed to be very much at odds with some of them.

Trying to hide her own smirk and resolving to be nearby when the two Tribes got into _that_ confrontation, Katara wondered if it would be possible for the Master to teach her. She had mastered what was on the stolen scroll, but even that was only a few moves, and as Zuko had said, an untrained bender was an unsafe bender.

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Zuko had changed from jealous to smug when Katara dragged him with her to hear the news about the Avatar and her brother.  
Lack of resources, proper holding facilities, and any real back-up, not to mention the still-slightly-hostile Water Tribesmen, made capturing Aang very unfeasible, but it was nice to know that he could still do a better job at teaching Katara combat Waterbending than the greatest Master in the North ever could.

Of course, that was partly because the Northern Water Tribe didn't believe in letting girls fight in the first place, a notion that the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation crew loudly proclaimed to be one of the stupidest things they had ever heard, but the point remained.

Zuko felt especially pleased with himself for helping Katara improve her aim when Master Pakku narrowly avoided a barrage of ice-daggers.

That led to a short but furious fight between the two Waterbenders (Sokka showing a remarkable amount of good sense by physically restraining Aang), punctuated by Tetsuko and Zuko loudly cheering Katara on, albeit for different reasons.

Katara got in several near wins, especially with her ice-disks, but was eventually defeated when the Waterbending Master managed to trap her in a cage of ice-spikes. Zuko was sure his heart had stopped for a moment when the mass of spikes had shot down toward Katara, and everyone had frozen for several very long seconds, before Katara had started struggling to get out.

The shocks weren't over yet, though. As Zuko helped Tetsuko carefully melt Katara's arms free, at which point she dispelled the rest of it herself, Master Pakku spotted her necklace, leading to the relevation that Katara's grandmother had been from the Northern Tribe, and Katara's heirloom necklace was actually Kanna's old betrothal necklace.

Zuko choked, and resolved to subtly enquire, or have his Uncle subtly inquire, about Northern Water Tribe customs. The last thing he wanted was to become accidentally betrothed because he had returned Katara's necklace to her. Katara would kill him, and if she didn't, her Father, Brother and 'Uncles' would be lining up to do it for her.

Sokka made a funny, strangled noise, turning a mottled purple. Katara spluttered, trying to find the words. Her necklace was a family heirloom, one that she would eventually pass on to her daughter. Besides, she was too young to be engaged, and Zuko had been the only boy to even touch it, when he… She firmly yanked her thoughts away from that path, and back to the point. "My Gran-Gran was supposed to marry you?"

Hakoda was just as shocked as his children, but a lot less lost for words. "No wonder she left."

Master Pakku snapped out of the past to glare at the Southern Chief. "Watch your tone, boy! We're the ones offering to help against the Fire Nation…"

"That's _Chief Hakoda_ to you, old man! I'm Kanna's son-in-law, by the way, and our tribe has been helping the Earth Kingdom for the past _five years_, while you ignored requests for aid from them, and we stopped bothering to ask over thirty years ago!"

"So you sailed off and left your people defenceless…"

Zuko absently offered his hand to help Katara over the mud-puddle left by the Waterbending fight, as he would any lady. Katara rolled her eyes as she aimed a whip that was more mud than water at the Northern Master, but accepted as Zuko tried to keep his voice low. "What are they talking about?"

Katara whispered back as she led him out of the line of fire, to where Aang was asking Sokka the same question. Aang already knew the basics, but these were details that she and Sokka hadn't mentioned. "Our Tribe had been asking the Northern Tribe for aid since the raids started. They never answered, so we finally stopped asking a few years before Dad became Chief. Dad sent a final message, when we discovered I was the last Waterbender, asking for someone to come down and teach me, but they never answered."

Zuko was about to make a less-than-flattering remark about the Northern Water Tribe, which Katara probably wouldn't even get angry at him for, but Sokka interrupted, his hand wandering deliberately toward the Water Tribe weapons over his shoulder. "Katara, don't talk to the Angry Jerk! Why do we even have Fire Benders hanging around here anyway?"

Zuko hissed steam, but Katara answered before he could. "Because they treated me as a guest when they stopped the pirates from hurting me, and Zuko and Iroh helped me with Waterbending. It would have been wrong for Dad to kill them after that."

Sokka looked reluctant, but stopped reaching for his machete. "Still, are you sure that was a good idea? When we took prisoners at the Siege of the North, several of them told us that they didn't want to be ransomed, because the Fire Lord would have them killed for failure. Some of them were high ranking officers. The old guy and the Angry Jerk might be part of the Royal Family, but I'm not sure that even capturing Aang will get them off the hook, and _someone_ is going to notice how much your bending improved during captivity, even if they don't get the implications."

Aang might be the Avatar and occasionally wise, but he clearly wasn't as perceptive as Katara had given him credit for. "What implications? Treating Katara as a guest can't be a bad thing, could it?"

And maybe the Water Tribe Idiot wasn't quite as big an idiot as Zuko had thought. "It means that _someone_ on that ship was teaching her, Aang. We're in a war, so helping the enemy, even just teaching them to Waterbend, is going to get you in a lot of trouble."

At least one of them got it, though Zuko didn't like the way that Katara, who he and Uncle had already warned about the consequences, was suddenly looking guilty, as though it were her fault. He wanted to reassure her that his Father wouldn't go that far and kill his own son and brother, even if he been the one to scar Zuko. Aang, on the other hand, clearly had selective hearing. "Really? Maybe they can teach me how to Firebend, as well! I mean, I'll need a Firebending Sifu, and it's not like I can go up to a Fire Nation soldier and ask them."

Zuko was about to reply to the effect that he'd rather swallow live coals and shave off his phoenix tail, but was forestalled when Master Pakku called Aang to practice his Waterbending. Katara followed, intent on learning whether Master Pakku wanted to teach her or not. Zuko and Sokka exchanged glares and decided that hostility came second to watching Katara (Zuko) take another shot at Master Pakku (Sokka) and making sure that none of the Northern Water Tribe boys got any ideas about watching Katara (Both).

Zuko couldn't help but think that things were so much simpler when all he had to worry about was regaining his Honour.

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_A/N: Chapter Three done! I had planned to have an encounter between Iroh and an Earth Kingdom officer, where the Water Tribe would have to step in, but that wound up being put off until the next chapter._

_I'm really not begging for reviews, but constructive feedback would be much appreciated. Reviews let a writer know that they are doing well, or at least what their problem areas are. _

_Thanks, Nat _


	4. Chapter 4

Prince Zuko had to admit to being impressed. It looked like the Fire Nation wasn't the only one to place a great deal of value on Honour, for which he was very, very grateful.

General Hung offered to let the rest of the Fire Nation crew under Parole leave quietly, if they would remain in Earth Kingdom Custody until the war was over. Prince Zuko and the Dragon of the West, however, had standing Death Warrants on their heads, and would more than likely be executed. Hakoda counter-offered to take his fleet, and the captives, and go back to the South Pole, if the Earth Kingdom thought so little of Water Tribe honour.

Pakku had offered the same, and a threat to the effect of the General finding himself trapped in the bottom two-thirds of an iceberg if he tried it. Unfortunately for the Master, as the Earth Kingdom had little experience with Waterbenders, and as the Northern Tribe had yet to actually participate in the war, and was viewed with a certain amount of scorn because of it, the threat was taken a lot less seriously than Hakoda's.

Hakoda, on the other hand, was taken very seriously. Until the Southern Water Tribe came to help, the Earth Kingdom had been very lacking in anything like a navy, so they were unwilling to do anything to risk that alliance. Ultimately, General Hung simply agreed that the message to his superiors would be 'lost in delivery' until further notice. There was a particularly arrogant captain too well-connected to simply be given a much- needed demotion, and Hung could make him responsible if anyone actually investigated.

Even so, it would be best if the prisoners simply weren't around if anyone showed up for a surprise inspection.

The Fire Nation crew were spaced out amongst the Water Tribe ships, which should keep them out of the way of the Earth Kingdom officials. Tetsuko had temporarily placing herself on one of the Northern ships, mostly just to annoy them about having a woman soldier around. Zuko had the bad feeling that the sole woman on his crew was going to rub the fact in their faces for a very, very long time.

Katara had originally wanted her friend to come with them, but it was generally agreed that it would be hard enough to stop Zuko and Iroh from drawing attention, and three Fire Nation people would be pushing it. Katara settled for letters whenever possible, and Tetsuko kicking Northern Water Tribe butt for both of them.

Personally, Zuko was glad that they wouldn't have yet another chaperone while he was doing his clumsy beginner's best to court Katara. Zuko admitted that he had very little idea what romantic love was supposed to be like, having been barely aware that girls even existed in that sense when Lady Ursa disappeared, but thought that what he felt for Katara might be it. He knew that he liked her, and she was attractive and had become a good friend, and liked him enough to talk her father into offering Honourable Parole and protecting him and Uncle from being executed by the Earth Kingdom.

Zuko and Sokka had temporarily misplaced their mutual hostility long enough to discuss whether or not to feel sorry for the Northern Tribespeople, and agreed on not. Zuko didn't know his crew well enough to say if or how much Tetsuko would make them suffer for the inevitable misogynistic remarks, and Sokka thought that the Northern Tribe deserved whatever temporary misfortune might happen to them. In Katara's Brother's opinion, one Fire Nation Armada and a Female Fire Nation soldier turning their prejudices upside down didn't come close to decades of raiding, so the Northern Water Tribe had no room to whine about it.

Zuko really could have done without visiting the Foggy Swamp, especially after seeing his mother and discovering that it was only an illusion. Repeated prodding and enlisting Katara's aid to see what had his normally-cheerful Uncle in such a despondent mood revealed that his Uncle had seen Lu Ten, and the repeat of a nightmarish vision he had been granted upon visiting the Spirit World in search of his son.

Desperately searching for a bright side or cheerful remark, Zuko had commented that at least Katara and Sokka were as traumatized as the rest of them by their newfound-and-thankfully-very-distant cousins. It had earned a Sternly Disapproving look, marred by a small smile. Zuko had flatly refused the offer of borrowing clothing while their own recovered from crash-landing in the swamp, preferring to steam himself dry, but he was curious to see what the female version would look like on Katara.

That dream was shot down and incinerated when a young Swamp Tribe man tried to press the issue, and found himself hanging upside down from a vine, while more waved threateningly at him.

Zuko also could have done without encountering Chong and his band of Singing Nomads (who tried even Uncle's patience and that took some doing!) but going through the Cave of Two Lovers had some highlights.

He found himself actually pitying Sokka for being stuck with Chong and Co, while he and Uncle Iroh eventually wandered into a large tomb that Katara and Aang had discovered about five minutes before them, just in time to witness the Water Tribe girl storming away from a very confused Avatar.

Inwardly cheering, Zuko all but ran over to Hakoda's daughter, who was all too willing to explain. Apparently, the tomb was a monument to the first Human Earthbenders, Oma and Shu, who had fallen in love despite being on opposite sides of a war. They had built a Labyrinth of tunnels so that they could meet in secret, which had worked until Shu was killed in the war and didn't come. Grief-stricken, Oma had nearly destroyed both villages, and finally forced them to get along and build a single city, Omashu, between the two villages. The tomb was built with a statue of a man and a woman kissing, and the caption "_Love is Brightest in the Dark"_.

Operating on pure guesswork, for lack of any better ideas, Katara had wondered if kissing and putting out the torch would show the way out, but admitted that it was a crazy idea.

Aang, showing a profound lack of Common Sense, Self-Preservation, and forethought, had reassured Katara that he would rather kiss her than die, which accounted for Katara's ire. Zuko was the first to admit that he didn't understand girls and probably never would, but how many kinds of an idiot would you have to be to say something like _that_? Avatar Roku had a family, and Avatar Yangchen was said to have born two children. Avatar Kyoshi, living to be over two hundred, had seen the first of her great-great-great-great-grandchildren born. Avatar Kuruk had never married after the death of his fiancée, but Aang was looking to be the first in an entire cycle of Avatars that was doomed to _never_ get a girlfriend/significant-other, if he kept this up.

Still, that was no reason to waste probably the only chance he would get to kiss Katara and not be water-whipped. "I'll help you try it, if you don't object."

Katara looked briefly startled, but nodded. A second of concentration put out the torches as he leaned in to kiss her, and they broke apart after several seconds to see green crystals illuminating a path out. The crystals also illuminated a very surprised Uncle Iroh and an Avatar staring daggers at him, but that was beside the point.

Fending off his uncle and carefully placing Katara between him and the Avatar, and having the horrible feeling that news of this would be headed back to Sergent Tetsuko as soon as they found a hawker, Zuko tried to relieve the awkward atmosphere. "Oma and Shu could have thought that through better."

Katara, also trying to avoid Aang's betrayed stare, looked at him. "How so?"

Three years of searching for the Avatar had given Zuko plenty of time to look up History and strategy scrolls. "They might have known the way out, but what about all the people who would have become suspicious about where they were disappearing to and followed them in? If they were such powerful benders, why not just stop the war in the first place, instead of waiting years before one of them got killed?"

Katara looked thoughtful, and his uncle almost amused at something. The Avatar opened his mouth to speak, but then they saw the light of day, and Katara and Zuko burst into a run, not noticing that they still held hands.

Katara was worried when Sokka wasn't there, and wanted to go back and look for him. Zuko was trying to think of a tactful way to talk her out of it when the Water Tribe boy (and the singing Nomads) appeared, riding on a Badger-mole and looking far more relieved than a few hours in a cave should really warrant.

For the first time, Zuko actually felt sorry for Sokka. Zuko might have been forced to put up with the Avatar glaring at him all the time, but Sokka had spent hours stuck with the Nomads, and emerged from it all with a giant bruise on his forehead, caused by the many, many times he had face-palmed out of sheer frustration.

Zuko couldn't even bring himself to make a snarky comment about self-inflicted brain-damage.

Thanks go to Kimberly T., for letting me borrow her idea in the first place, and SCWLC, for inspiring the CotL scene. You guys are awesome!


End file.
